The first thing that struck me when I re-read our ‘Linux on the Desktop’ research report from 2009
was how much the conversation was actually about dealing with the cost and complexity of running
Windows estates.
Sure, some of the 1,275 respondents to the survey we ran were hard-core open source enthusiasts, but
they were in the minority. Most of those providing us with input were IT pros considering Desktop
Linux as a practical solution to a significant ongoing problem. Cost reduction was the primary
concern, along with improving security and reducing operational overhead and distraction.
Linux on the Desktop thumbnailThe second thing was that the core problem that Desktop Linux was seen
as a solution for back then is still very much with us in 2020. While Microsoft has arguably made
good progress on security, the sentiment among IT pros around cost and complexity doesn’t seem to
have changed that much. Indeed many I speak with today complain that the Windows-as-a-Service model,
or more specifically how to work around it, has just increased the level of pain and distraction.
But some things clearly have changed in the intervening decade. Desktop Linux as a proposition for
mainstream business computing has pretty much been abandoned. It’s still relevant for a range of
technical computing use cases, but nowadays you’re unlikely to consider it for Angela in Accounts,
Martin in Marketing, or Will in the Warehouse.
The ‘disruptive’ alternative now is the Google model that manifests commercially as Chrome
Enterprise, backed up by Google Workspace (G-Suite as was). The underlying premise of moving from
client-resident to cloud-based applications and data is actually a better solution to the Windows
complexity problem than Desktop Linux ever was.